Summary
The geoglyphs inZelda: Tears of the Kingdomare similar to the Captured Memories inBreath of the Wild. Finding each glyph’s Dragon Tear will reveal a look into the past, specifically about Princess Zelda’s whereabouts. Since these are from Zelda’s perspective, it’s only natural the primary focus would be on her, Rauru, and Sonia. However,Tears of the Kingdomintroduces other characters and additions to the lore that unfortunately aren’t as fleshed out as they could have been.
The downside to the Dragon Tears is that they don’t expand on any of the new characters as well as they could.Breath of the Wild’s memories gave its players glimpses of the previous Champions and even expanded on them through the expansion pass.Tears of the Kingdom’s new characters areat a disadvantage with no DLC, as it would have been a great way to answer unresolved questions or give screen time to those who needed it.
6Yona
Zora of Another Domain
While there was no way for Yona to fit into the Dragon Tears flashbacks, her entire existence has a lot of untapped potential. Her in-game bio states that she is a Zora noble from “another domain.” However, this domain’s location is never specified nor is it brought up by Yona herself. WhatTears of the Kingdomdoes tell its players about Yona is that she is a childhood friend of Sidon and rescued him when they were kids.
BeforeTotK, there was no mention or even foreshadowing of Yona’s existence. What’s more, is that she appears to have a voice actor for each language despite having no full speaking lines in-game.
Both Yona and Muzu arethe only Zora to have manta ray heads. Every other Zora seems to be the same type with the one exception being Sidon, who’s modeled after a hammerhead shark rather than a whale like his father and sister. Since Yona only has significance in the Zora arc ofTotK, it makes sense why she didn’t get much screentime. However, a cutscene of her and Sidon when they were younger could give their relationship some more padding. Simply, the existence of a second Zora’s Domain is interesting enough, and it’s something that could be recycled in futureZeldagames.
5Zonai Devices
Ancient Technology in Zonai Culture
The Zonai Technology was one ofTotK’s best aspects. Link can construct his own weapons by fusing aFlame Emitterwith a shield or sword/stick/etc, create a plane with a Zonai Wing and Zonai Fans,and many more contraptions. It would also appear that from a story standpoint, Zonai Technology has replaced Sheikah Technology.
This also raises questions as to why it wasn’t explored more with the Dragon Tears. InBotW, the Guardians and the Divine Beasts were key elements in Hyrule before the Calamity. InTotK, Mineru, Rauru’s older sister, is all but stated to have dabbled in Zonai Technology creations. In fact, the Seized Construct in the Spirit Temple was a prototype of the Construct she inhabits following the Construct Factory. Given Zelda’s fascination with history, it’s a surprise there wasn’t a scene that looked more into the makings of the Zonai Devices or even more details regarding the Constructs.
4Ganondorf
Leader of the Gerudo
As the primary antagonist ofTears of the Kingdom, Ganondorf had a lot of hype to live up to following his reveal in theTotKteaser. Many fans wereglad to see him return to aZeldagame, and various theories surrounding Ganondorf were made. One interesting theory was that Ganondorf was a victim of Hyrule, and that he was essentially a wellspring of energy used by the Royal Family. His hatred towards this treatment would eventually turn him into Calamity Ganon, is what some people theorized.
WhenTotKfinally hit shelves, it discarded any ideas that Ganondorf may have been a “sympathetic” villain. There also seems to be some discrepancy between Ganondorf and Calamity Ganon’s backstory. In fact, Ganondorf in the Dragon Tears just wants to conquer Hyrule without any specific motives. While fans aren’t expecting every incarnation of Ganondorf to be as melancholy asWind Waker’s Ganondorf, some were disappointed thatTotK’s Ganondorf didn’t give him much backstory or thought-provoking motives. He’s just there to rule Hyrule and obtain the ancient power of the Zonai: the secret stones.
What’s even more curious with Ganondorf is that the Gerudo that serve under him lookdifferent from the ones inBotWand present-dayTotK. Their skin is ash-gray, and some eagle-eyed viewers noticed two Gerudo that had Koume and Kotake’s colors. InOcarina of Time, it was Koume and Kotake who raised Ganondorf. If these characterswerethe Era of the Wild’s versions of the Twinrova sisters, then it appears they were less of “characters” and more of an “Easter egg” for longtime fans of the series. This doesn’t change the fact that many people would have liked to see more of Ganondorf and the Gerudo in ancient Hyrule than what they got in the final cut ofTears of the Kingdom.
3The Four Sages
Sage of Wind, Fire, Water, and Lightning
Rauru bestowed the remaining secret stones to one of each race, Rito, Goron, Zora, and Gerudo, to help him in the fight against Ganondorf. Through these gifts, they became the Sage of Wind, Fire, Water, and Lightning respectively. Even more curious is that players are never shown their faces, as they wear Zonai helmets modeled after the Divine Beast Helms that Link can collect inBotW/TotK. To strengthen their mystery, their names are unknown. All that players will learn about them is that they’re the ancestors of Tulin/Teba, Yunobo, Sidon, and Riju. Thus, they’re also the ancestors of three of the four Champions: Daruk, Mipha, and Urbosa. The exception to this is the Sage of Wind,who has no relation to Revali.
Unfortunately, the cutscenes with each sage gets recycled every time Link clears one of the Temples. The only other scenes they appear in are the last two Dragon Tears. It would have been nice to get a name to a face, or even a brief look into how these Sages stood out among the others of their race. The Lightning Sage in particular could have benefited from an extra scene, as she, being a Gerudo, would have a direct connection to Ganondorf over the other Sages and Rauru. It seems that the Sages were never meant to be the same type of characters as the Champions, despite sharing the same voice actors in every language.
2Rauru and Sonia
Founders of Hyrule
While Rauru and Sonia were major characters in the Dragon Tears, not much else is known about their life beyond ruling over Hyrule and supporting Zelda. Fans werehoping a DLC would expand on Rauru and Sonia, but it seems the Dragon Tears were more focused on the swift approach of the Imprisoning War rather than giving bonus scenes to the new characters.
Compared to the Sages and even Ganondorf, Rauru and Sonia needed less screen time, but much of their history before meeting one another is still unknown. Most of their history can be filled by the players' interpretation, but there’s no doubt that for allTotKshowed about the Zonai, the founders of Hyrule still retain their mystique.
1The Ancient Zonai Hero
The Hero on the Tapestry
If Link manages to find all the Shrines of Light, he will receive full body armor on the Great Sky Island. Equipping it changes his appearance to that of a Zonai warrior. While this may seem random,BotWfans realized the Ancient Hero Aspect was modeled off the hero on the tapestry of the war against Calamity Ganon 10,000 years ago.
Most players assumed that the ones who defeated Calamity Ganon in the past were Hylia and Link’s ancestor, but others thought the one wielding theMaster Swordlooked too different to be human. Some went as far as to speculate he wasGanondorf. While Link is obviously a Hylian,he could have a Zonai ancestor, or maybeBotW/TotKLink is unrelated to the hero the same wayWind WakerLink isn’t related to the Hero of Time.
It’s likely the Ancient Hero Aspect was more of an Easter Egg and not meant to be his own character. However, it’s a strange choice considering how littleTotKpulls from the Calamity ofBotW.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomis available for Nintendo Switch.
